TWO BITS: Strong to Cards? News on ex-Gators.

1 » Earlier in the season, rumors insisted that Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong would be given heavy consideration for the head coaching job with the Memphis Tigers. Reports later surfaced that Strong was not being thought of for the post. Following a rousing victory over the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, rumors have now surfaced that the Louisville Cardinals hope to secure Strong as their future head coach. “I know my job is here right now and it’s the only thing I can worry about,” Strong said when questioned about the rumor. “You can’t let yourself get consumed with it. My job is, ‘Let’s go beat Alabama.’ What can I do? If they are going to hire me, they are going to hire me. But my job right now – let’s go beat ‘Bama.”

2 » A pair of former Gators put themselves in the spotlight this past weekend. Cameron Newton, who was dropped from the Florida football team after being arrested for stealing and destroying a laptop, found a starting job with Blinn College in Texas and is on his way to leading that team to a junior college bowl game in a week. This weekend, however, he was visiting the Mississippi State Bulldogs and head coach Dan Mullen (his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while at Florida). Newton is expected to pick MSU for obvious reasons and was seen ringing a cowbell during his visit.

Jonathan Mitchell, a former Florida basketball player who transferred to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for increased playing time, said earlier in the week he was looking forward to showing Gators head coach Billy Donovan what he had lost. Instead, Mitchell only scored six points, contributed two rebounds and two assists and committed a team-high four turnovers – nothing that bothered Donovan or Florida.